Manchester United made history as they won their first UEFA Europa League title in club history last night.Therefore it is a perfect time to reflect on Jose Mourinho’s first year as a manager of Manchester United.

Obstacles

All throughout this season, Manchester United was hit by the injury bug with 18 injuries. However, keep in mind United were playing so many games in Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and English League Cup. Therefore, injuries were bound to happen when you play that many games.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, their key acquisition Manchester United would be lost. Ibrahimovic provided a strong scoring punch as their go-to striker. Ibrahimovic overcame all the odds in 48 games he scored 28 goals for the club. It will be intriguing if they bring him back next year he is a free agent.

Confused

Mourinho needed time to understand his new team with his lineups. He was rotating the starting 11 for a couple of months and when he finally figured it was too little too late. Mourinho would often choose his older players over all the youth on the club which hurt their overall momentum. By the time he was familiar with his team, Manchester United was out of the Premier League title picture and a couple of critical losses they were out of the top four spot.

Championship pedigree

Mourinho is not a stranger to winning trophies it’s in his DNA. He has previously won the Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan as well as claiming league titles in England, Spain, and Italy.

Conclusion

Jose Mourinho came under a lot of criticism under his first year as a manager for Manchester United.  He has won three trophies such as the Community Shield, English League Cup and most importantly the Europa League. As a result, of winning the Europa League they have booked their ticket for UEFA Championship League which was their main objective all year long.

 

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Photo credit courtesy via ESPN FC, The Mirror, Daily Express, Metro